


Hunt Like A Wolf

by AnikkNekoto



Series: Dark Tales & Fables [1]
Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Blood and Violence, Cannibalism, Dark Will, Dark Will Graham, Each chapter is its own story, Established Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter, Gray Will Graham, Hannibal Lecter is a Cannibal, Horror, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Psychological Horror, References to Drugs, Survival Horror, Will Graham Focused
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:28:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29373849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnikkNekoto/pseuds/AnikkNekoto
Summary: A series of short tales and one-shots, in which we follow our main character, Will Graham. Most take place in the time after their fall together. Some take place before, or during, or in another universe of their own making. These stories are filled with tales of connection, blood, greed, demons, magic, and power. The foulest aspects of humanity lie here. But Will sits as a King does, at the peak of a vicious food chain where the lesser could only nibble at his feet. From the equivalent of Olympus, Will strikes his righteousness down.CHAPTER 1:A traveling man finds himself in the hospitality of a kind and wealthy house. But little does he know, there are secrets beneath the floors, and passages within the walls.
Relationships: Will Graham & Hannibal Lecter, Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Series: Dark Tales & Fables [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2158578
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	Hunt Like A Wolf

**Author's Note:**

> (A part of a series of Hannibal Universe Short-tales and One-shot stories)
> 
> _Hunter AU Series, 1._
> 
> **[Warning: Each series is NOT guaranteed to be expanded upon!]**
> 
> This tale will be a part of a thing I'm calling my Hunter AU series. (No more spoilers 😉)
> 
> ***This chapter took inspiration from elements in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Shining***

****** 1 ******

The dirt road (rugged would be a better descriptor) that led the way was uneven, as though traveling over a road built of nails. 

Vine and mossy vegetation swallowed any stone and pebbly rock bearing the duty of marking the overgrown road. With crannies of shallow holes everywhere. Capable of easily jostling the wheels and damaging the shock absorbers.

The man in the driver seat could smell the burnt rubber through the panels of the fans. Made it worse since the car's heater was busted on an uncomfortable, chilling day. But she was an already old model with many years on her, so that wasn't a surprising missed feature to him anymore.

It's been hours since the man had seen another person or building. Reinforced by the fact that there really wasn't much to see out here. Just him and the seemingly endless lakes of tall golden grass, barren crop fields, and the twitchy skeleton of leafless trees as far as the eye can see.

The —  _ clang, clang  _ — of sliding metal in the engine gradually grew louder and louder. As if on cue, they finally gave out on the man in the middle of nowhere. 

Tear gas-like gray smoke seeped through the hood of the vehicle and into the driver's seat.

Forced to stop, the driver immediately slammed down on the brakes, twisted the keys out, unbuckled himself, and whooshed open the car door. He grunted in irritation with each step he took to get out of the old and heavily used car. He wore a plain, blue three-button shirt and dark-gray chinos. They were a little worn-down with a fairly prominent dark line that stained the bottom of the shirt.

Wrapping to the front of the car, the man banged at the hood. Forcing it open with effort.

_ Clink. Clank. _

_ Clink. Clank. _

As the man looked over the rusted car's engine, he noticed a faded path off to the side of the road through the twiggy trees. Trailing it with his eyes, he curiously peered through the thicket of gold grass and spindly brambles. Perhaps hoping it led to some house that had some tools.

But what looked to be hidden in a nook of ghostly wind, barren grass, twiggy trees, and prickly bushes was a lonely dark bricked, wooden house. 

_ A mansion by the looks of it. _

The lengthy building had elegant A-frames, marbled pillars, an inviting arched doorway, and so many one-way windows. 

If the tattered windows weren't enough of a dead giveaway, judging by the weathered state of the door and walls, it was easy to assume that no one lived there. 

The man felt disappointment.

There were crumbling bricks and stones that created new doorways in the walls and littered the front of the building. There were fallen chunks in the deteriorating marble. Missing roof shingles that exposed the wood beneath. A broken balcony with holes in the rails and planks that one could easily fall from. 

The man could go on and on about what was wrong with the building, but then he'll waste too much time.

As he turned back to check on the state of his car,  _ "Hello!" _ Suddenly said a voice.

The man whipped back in the direction of the startling greeting — the same direction as the abandoned house — eyeing a tall figure that came through the dark tree path. 

The figure stepped closer, revealing an oddly refined-looking gentleman.

The man next to the car shifted his feet. Uncertain. Suspicious.

"Stranger, what brings you to these parts?" A bright slanted smile came from the unknown graying man with follicles of silver mingled with the dark, who donned a nice black and white suit with an equally nice black tie.

The gentleman continued to approach the man at the car. Though he was dressed well, he seemed to see the stranger as something rare, something to gawk at. Not noticing how springy and twitchy to flee the man he was approaching was.

"I was, uh, traveling," answered the man. He shifted his feet again. Trousers stained with patches of oil.

An odd glint in the gentleman's eyes became clearer as he drew closer to the man and his worn-out car. 

The man noted how the oranging sky made the gentleman's green eyes, like poison, stand out even more.

Quickly, the man snapped his focus down onto the tie.

"We don't receive many visitors around here," the approaching gentleman hummed in wonderment, tilting his head at an odd forty-five-degree angle. "A rarity that we do."

"Yeah... just passing on through." A nervous man's reply. 

"Of course. There isn't much to see around here after all. I assure you." The gentleman's tone was mirthful.

"Yeah..." the man awkwardly agreed as he pushed a twitchy, dark-brown curl of sweat-soaked hair from his blue-like-crystal eyes. "But... my car doesn't seem to want to cooperate." To demonstrate, he patted the hood of the car, causing it to give out a shriek-like scream and more gray smoke. Metal parts scraping together as the man tried to fix what could be the problem.

He took a glance at the road behind his car. Wiping sweat from his brow and leaving a thin stain of blackened oil there too. Then he glanced back at the gentleman, only to see that the odd smile never left.

A chill as cool as the breeze shivered through his thin jacket. And the fresh cogs in the back of his mind slowly twisted into place.

The gentleman in the suit went on as normal. "I see," he simply nodded in understanding. "I shall inform my Master of your unfortunate circumstances. And if you'd like, we can call a mechanic for you on the morrow. For I'm afraid the shops would have already closed by this time. We'll be happy to accommodate you in one of our guest rooms for the night."  _ That smile was a bit too wide. _

"That is mighty kind of you." The man's blue eyes like the ocean lit up in thanks, his voice exaggeratedly cheerful. He shifted his posture, sagging his spine in a lax manner exuding unguarded gratefulness.

"My pleasure, Sir," said the gentleman as he extended a hand holding a small handkerchief out.

The other man looked at the outstretched hand for a minute, seeming to weigh the pros and cons. Eventually, he did nod in subtle permission. The gentleman took the gesture and swiftly stepped up to the man, whipping the black oil from the scratches on the man's hands.

The blue-eyed man still subconsciously refused direct eye contact with the gentleman, as he looked past his shoulders. He was feeling even more flighty due to the touch, but unbeknownst to the gentleman, he sharpened his focus on the little details he could see clearer now due to their proximity. Such as the gentleman's black tie, his cuffed sleeves, the soles of his shoes, and the brass pocket watch in his coat. He even caught a whiff of something.  _ Lavender? _

"There we go." The gentleman stepped back, then stretched out a hand in an official greeting. "No need for thanks, as it is normal for people to help those we see in need. You may call me Theo."

"Will Graham." The man replied. Slinking back to pleasantries as he firmly shook the gentleman's greeting. An eye always on the gentleman's hands.

"Well, Mister Graham, right this way please." Theo stretched his two arms out to lead. 

Will swiftly followed suit. But he wondered briefly: why were they heading towards the worn down and _ definitely  _ abandoned mansion.

Will looked around, seeing no other house in sight.

They only continued to step closer to the rickety boards of the worn-down estate.

Theo hummed at his obvious confusion, "Sir, please watch your step. The path is quite run down and was a tad bit overgrown." 

Will furrowed his eyebrows as he looked around at the patchy, broken, and very uneven path. (Neglected would be the better fitting word.) 

His expression was quizzical as he stared at the gentleman as though he were taking Will as a fool.

However, the man simply gave Will a hearty laugh. Adjusted his tie and said, "May you please excuse the state of the grounds (mess), Mister Graham. You see, our gardener has been on leave for... quite some time." A wide smile crept onto the gentleman's sharp lips as he continued to lead Will along the winding, barely existing path. "It is far more respectable looking on the inside."

Will's face remained neutral as he barely held in a dubious breath. But it seemed to be a conversation the gentleman avoided, so Will decided to head off into a different direction of the conversation. 

"I saw several horses on the way here."

"Yes." The gentleman turned away. "They're a part of the local population." His tone was dull.

"Not many people though," Will added.

"Yes…" Theo's voice paused ever so slightly. "We are in quite a remote area."

"You keep a headcount of them?"

Theo's voice was admirably neutral even as he had noticeably stumbled on a root. "Of what, Mister Graham?"

"Of the horses, of course," Will said sweetly. Swiftly stepping over the root.

"Oh."  _ Cough.  _ "Yes, the farmers loved them as though they were their own children. Like family. It'll be far better to ask them, however, for they have a greater knowledge of the fields than I."

"I had a family," Will hummed. "A family of strays. My dogs."

"How altruistic and lovely of a sentiment." Theo smiled (a bit crooked). "Where are your dogs now?"

"In good homes..." He replied softly.

They finally reached the hole-ridden front porch of the mansion. Theo and Will stood off to the side to not fall in.

"Being with other people was... Too stressful. Too complicated." Will stepped behind Theo as the gentleman opened the doors for him. "Wondering eyes that keep tagging me as though I'm some sort of rare meat on the market." 

The doors clattered with a creaking open. Not enough oil in the hinges.

"My sympathy." The man slightly dipped his head. "Fret not, I am sure there are many in the world who feel similarly to you, Mister Graham."

Will's smirk didn't look as though it belonged on his face. "You don't have to feign about that, because it doesn't affect me as much as you think it does." 

The gentleman seemed to pause. Then his voice echoed behind Will. "You're quite interesting, Mister Graham." The man didn't smile, but Will could hear the curve in his tone.

"I try not to be." Will shook his head.

He closed the doors after Will.

Will squinted as he entered the foyer. Then his eyes immediately dilated as he marveled at the surprising limestone accented walls. His skin twinkled under a glass chandelier that glowed as bright as Preciosa crystals. The spiral emblems etched into the columns that supported the high ceilings teased his fingers that wanted to touch it. And the large T-spilt white oak staircase seemed to lead up into the heavens.

"Forgive my saying, Mister Graham," Theo's voice drew Will back from his marveling. "But that seems such a waste to me."

"Well, don't we all have different tastes?" Will tone copied the man's mirth.

"Taste?" Theo's eyes quirked a brow in interest.

_ Step. Step. Step. _

Will sweetly smiled, then clarified, "Taste for company."

"Yes... of course, Sir." His voice steadied.

Will's sharp empathetic mind easily picked up on the gentleman's underlying cadence. But he didn't notice that Will closed his eyes. 

_ Step. Step. Step. _

The walls became familiar to Will as he saw things no other could understand. Made jumps that no other could. He stuck out his hand, fingers lightly dragging along the elegant lines of wallpaper. And Will smiled, but it wasn't his smile. They belonged to the childish eyes flipping through in his mind that once walked these walls.

"Please wait in one of the living rooms while I inform the Master of your presence." Theo swayed his arms open in the direction of another double-doored room. 

Will opened his eyes. Retracted his hand. "Go right ahead." He dipped his eyes to look down at the man's nice leather shoes.

"Then excuse me." Theo bowed. He walked briskly but elegantly.

Will watched the man's form disappear as he closed the door behind him. Then slowly walked towards the attention-grabbing bookshelves. Admiring the large collection of titles he's never read before. He didn't take a book yet, for he wanted to continue exploring the room a bit more. Maybe, possibly find secrets large manors like these are known for keeping hidden.

Hums left Will's lips. Genuine surprise that the gentleman wasn't lying when he said the mansion wasn't bad looking on the inside. The very elegant foyer was proof enough alone.

The living room was spotless, clearly well cared for, and just as elegant in design as the rest of the mansion, Will has seen so far. It would take many people to keep up with maintaining this appearance. The fine walls he walked by didn't look a day old. They accentuated wealth and culture through the well-preserved portraits and paintings of various places and landscapes.

But Will didn't like the portraits...

Whenever Will wasn't imagining shadowy faces on the walls, the realistic faces always creeped him out since he was a child. He was too young to know his mother, but the few pictures a curious child found of her didn't make him happy, rather they haunted his dreams. Like a phantom of his unknown past.

He shivered.

It simply made Will's skin crawl as though several pairs of eyes were constantly watching him. He shook his head and quickly glanced away from the portraits. Then clearing his mind, he continued his exploring. 

The floor trailing after his feet were crystal clean, and velvety soft. It was as though, everywhere Will turned, the room was decorated with well-dusted items, crocodile leather sofas, chairs, well-polished tables that were so shiny they could be mirrors, and lovely books.

His feet suddenly paused their exploration. Oddly, there weren't any windows. He stared at the mirror.

_ How strange. _

Will traced his steps back towards the rather generous bookcase. He carefully picked out a pristine book from one of the higher shelves. It was well preserved as though it had never been opened. But Will noticed a few small bends at the corner of some pages. Curiously, Will opened the pages with the bends and skimmed through them. Until finally, an out-of-place and folded piece of paper slipped out from one of the pages.

Gently putting the book down onto the shiny ebony table, Will bent over to inspect the fallen sheet. Unfolding the tattered paper and viewing the scratched letters. 

_ '\|./l|Dl\|/lX.|l\|/l|Xl\|/l|.tl\|/lT|l\|/l|Xl\|./l|Ul\|/l|sl\|/l.|tl\|/lX|.l\|/l|hl\|./l|El\|/l|Ml\|/.' _

Will thumped his head. He was able to pick out a few letters, but it still didn't make sense. Then he wondered if, "d.. t.. t.. u.. s.. t.. h.. e.. m..?"  _ Was it some sort of code? _ (Don't Tickle The Upset Squid Too Hard or Eat too Much?) Whatever it was looked as though whoever wrote it scratched out several lines, dots, and alphabets to the point of incoherency. Some lines were longer than the others, and some as though cut off. It was difficult to distinguish any message. 

_If there was one._ _Someone must have written the lines in a hurry._

_ Knock. Knock. Knock. _ Came the sudden light thumps of wood.

Will quickly folded the paper and shuffled it deep into the pocket of his pants.

"Yes?" He called out.

No one answered.

Will began to wander towards the doors.

_ It must be Theo. _

(Maybe he didn't hear Will.)

"Yes?" He said louder this time. "I'm here."

_ Click. Creak. _

Will's approach to the door completely froze. 

Peering through the small, dark sliver of the door opening, were a pair of deep yellow eyes too low to the ground to be from the man.

They stared at him. Sharp. Unblinking.  _ Hungry? _

Will shivered as they watched him. Then he shook his surprise away. 

"Hell—"

_ Slam!  _ The frames of the doors shook from the sudden force and closed.

"O..."

Will blankly stared. Confusion on his face as he wondered who that was. But then a dark stain in the corner of his eyes brought his attention away from the door. So he lifted his wrist to his nose and sniffed at his sleeve.

_ Do I smell? _

Will looked at his rough hands. His self-conscious side coming to the forefront once more. Took a tissue from a box on the table. He wiped the smeared oil from his face and hands.

He paused, just now noticing a scent in the air. Smelling something familiar. Something sweet. Something... fragrant. Like flowers. 

Something odd caught his eye. He walked over to it. Eyes focusing down, he perplexedly stared at a petalless flower that was innocently lying in the center of the rug. Its stem was still healthy and green.

_ Has that always been there? _

_ Knock. Knock. _ Another set of heavy thumps at the doors brought Will's attention around and away from the poor flower.

He stilled and decided not to approach it. He realized that he was self-conscious of the state of his less than pleasing appearance.

The wood slowly croaked open like a mouth.

"Mister Graham," greeted the familiar voice.

"Yeah, Mister Theo, I'm here."

"Very good. The master is aware of your  _ poor _ circumstances and has given permission for your extended stay here," the man chimed. 

(Will internally gritted his teeth at the perceived insult.) 

Theo swiftly stepped towards Will with a plate carrying a refreshing-looking glass of water in his hands. "However long you need for your means of traveling to be repaired." The glass was offered.

Will paused. "I hope it's quick," then he smiled just as friendly.

He took the generous glass into his hands and hummed. Not drinking it just yet.

"I shall only phone the best of mechanics for you," the man smiled. "It's the least I could do."

Will nodded in thanks.

"Allow me to show you to the guest room then." The gentleman politely dipped his held, but the angle of his eyes seemed trained on a specific thing in Will's left hand.

Will swirled the glass and casually said, "Please."

Theo nodded, turning away and leading Will from the room. They walked up the stairs in silence. They walked through the halls in silence. But Will didn't mind, he was busy admiring the high-quality red wool rugs, the silver crystal mirrors between the marbled column designed with flowery crenulations, the lines of large circular dangling lights casting down from the bright high-ceiling, and, of course, the elegant pale-blue flowered vases indented into the dark-brown walls every so often.

Will's left hand stealthily hovered over one of the vases, tilting the glass cup over it.

In Will's musings of the owner's apparent wealth, which he wouldn't know a thing of due to his working childhood, his sharp ears picked up faint girlish laughter.

"Does the Master have any children?" He asked.

"Why yes," Theo replied without looking back. "Mister Nicolas is a very capable heir. He will make for a fine master of the house. And Young Master Gerard, the youngest son, is quite the learned fellow. He has a certain way of enlightening words. The Master and Mistress are always very proud of them."

"I see," Will tilted his head as though curiosity appeased. "How enviable."

At his comment, Theo glanced back with a slight turn of his eyes. "Do you not have any human children, or a wife, Mister Graham?"

"Sharp of you. You're close, but not quite." Will's voice lowered as he closed his eyes, seeing a scene only he could. 

His hands twitched, shifting the glass back and forth between them. Were Will still the fearful man he was before, he would have fallen to his knees and wallowed in self-pity at all the things he's lost in his life. But, he's not...

"I used to." The words were finally released. His posture shifting like a chameleon changing its colors.

Silence ticked for a few moments. An elegant grandfather clock probably indicating a preset time.

"My condolences," offered the gentleman quietly.

Will snapped open his eyes, clearer than ever. "Oh, no. No. No." he chuckled awkwardly, then quickly explained, "My stepson, or perhaps ex-stepson now, is not dead or anything. Just estranged."

"Ah, my apologies for my embarrassing misunderstanding," the man relaxed. "Please accept my sympathies for your troubling circumstances."

"Thanks," Will observed the gentleman's posture softening. 

_ Click. Click. Click.  _ The details fell into place. 

"Do you have a son, Mister Theo?" (It was more so a statement than a question.)

If the gentleman was taken off guard, he hid it perfectly. "Ah, yes. He is the little sun in my life. Virtuous. Good...  _ Innocent..." _ The last word was almost too faint to be heard.

"What's his name?"

The gentleman sighed. "Meaning to be victorious. My Victor."

Will hummed. "A very lovely choice for a name."

"Thank you, Sir..." The gentleman seemed to genuinely be surprised, as though he never meant to discuss such personal things. He quickly turned away from Will.

The conversation gradually died in a rather tense tight-rope as they walked in silence again. And Will didn't probe anymore. But that was okay. He has learned more about this house and those who walk its walls than what he had started with.

They passed more mirrors and fewer and fewer vases. Will's blue eyes took in as many notable details as swiftly as they could.

_ Step. Creak. Step. Creak. _

Will decided to talk again. "Actually, this trip was probably to escape from my problems." His posture shifted again. Like a chameleon changing colors. He rolled shoulders into an unguarded and relaxing dip. "Like a wanderer trying to find meaning in his life again." His expression was hopeful, but also forlorn and meek as he added, "I don't have anyone waiting for me anymore, so I'm free to wander."

(It was unlike Will to be so vulnerable.)

Theo's eyes lit up in appraisal. "A journey for the soul," he applauded Will.

"Something like that."

"If you don't mind me asking, Mister Graham, what do you do for a living?"

"I was once a teacher and taught university-level psychology. Though obviously, not anymore." He shrugged.

"Oh, that is a hard-working profession worthy of praise! The minds of our generations to come are a valuable foundation of our country."

"Yeah, shame the profession doesn't get paid more," Will said with more bite than he intended. The snarkiness in his nature subconsciously came out.

Theo smiled out of a sense of obligated politeness.

The two men eventually stopped in front of one of the arched doorways.  _ (Good timing since the conversation died off again.) _

"I wish you success in your continued journey," the gentleman said as he opened the door for Will, ushering him inside. 

The gentleman took Will's empty glass cup before he walked into the room. The large space was as elegant as the rest of the house, and it smelled nice too. Something sweet, like lavender. But Will noted that there weren't any windows in here either.

Staying at the doorway, the gentleman glanced at his pocket watch and smiled. "I shall fetch you for dinner within the hour." He tapped the brass object. "Please make yourself at home in the meantime."

Will nodded.

The man quickly, but gently closed the door and left.

_ Step. Step Step.  _ The thumping of shoes gradually faded.

Left alone in his thoughts, Will began feeling self-conscious again. He glanced at the fine marbled floors and elegantly carved walls. Will shook his head and quickly shuffled himself to the private bathroom in the room. He noted a vent on the wall that looked big enough for a child to crawl into. 

Taking the fresh towels and change of clothes already kindly set out for him, he placed them down on the rack. He then took off his clothes and tossed them to the floor since they reeked of sun and engine oil.

Turning the sleek knob, he watched the cold water droplets mingle with the oil. Staining the water below his feet black as he washed out all the grime and sweat from his hair and skin. He only used water and unscented bar soap. Not bothering with the sweet-smelling shampoo and conditioner.

Will scrubbed hard over a more recent scar on his leg. Though it had been cleanly patched and well dressed when it was first inflicted, it still left a thin, light skin-colored line. A certain person may not have liked that fact. Remembering the barely twitch at the corner of his man's usually controlled expressions made Will chuckle. Will felt differently about it, however. He wore the scar proudly as though it were a trophy of war.

He slowly closed his eyes as the water refreshed his skin. Another scene only he could see started to swiftly play into his observant mind. Will could vividly reimagine the scene of the time he first received the injury that led to the scar on his leg. He also remembered the feeling of how great it had hurt. But it was nothing in comparison to the more overwhelming feeling of satisfaction as he destroyed a foul darkness with his bare fists.

He hummed. Eyes still closed.

Waiting until the satisfying memory in his mind palace ended, Will finally opened his eyelids back up and turned the shower's knob. The water quickly shut off and the lingering droplets began to slowly evaporate. Will shook his hair like a wet dog as he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. Letting the wet curls of his hair slightly obscure his vision.

As he reached for the change of clothes hanging on the rack, he suddenly wobbled. A dizzying spell swirling his eyes.

Immediately changing his course, Will moved out of the bathroom, practically sprinting towards the carpet with the windy towel barely hanging onto his waist. 

He tried to get to the luxuriously large bed he felt uncomfortable about since entering the room, but...

He didn't make it.

Will fell palms first to soften to land.  _ Shit.  _

He passed out smelling flowers.

When Will opened his groggy eyes, he found himself at the end of a long, white-clothed, and elegantly candlelit table. Head throbbing. Confusion blurred his sight. He felt as though he had forgotten something, but he couldn't quite remember what.

Thankfully, Will was dressed in a gray suit and tie similar in style to Theo's. The man must have found a spare pair in his uniformed wardrobe to lend to Will.  _ (But how did he get into these clothes? More importantly, how did he get here?) _

Anyway, Will has never seen such a long table in his life.  _ It could probably seat thirty people! _

And though he didn't want to admit it, Will was admiring the prominent wolf head attached to a golden trimmed plaque. It was displayed directly above the larger seat at the other end of the table. He wondered if the head of the house had actually hunted for it himself, or if he just bought it off of a poacher just as a show of wealth.

_ Creak. _ A door slid open.

"You're awake. Wonderful." Came an unfamiliar voice.  _ "Sooner than I thought..." _ then came a low mutter.

"Excuse me?" Will, still affected by something, slowly turned to look at where the unfamiliar raspy voice came from. 

His ears were throbbing in his head. 

It felt as though he was submerged underwater.

Blinking the hazy circles of lights in his vision away, Will saw — in the doorway of the elegant dining hall — an unfamiliar man with an impeccable presence. He radiated the very definition of wealth and influence. He had graying, onyx-black hair styled with a sweep behind his ears. A vintage, maroon swallowtail coat, and silk, black pants adorned on his body. Even his shoes spared little expense: made-to-order black leather with etching. And the final icing on the cake, he was topped off with a silver crested cane under his right hand, which matched the one on his collar. 

"Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Charlus Maximilian Pere de Nablefaim." He motioned a little bow as though it were a performance.

As Will rubbed his eyes and opened his mouth to reply, his old habits ruined it by flying up to the surface.

He forgot how to respond as he began to nervously tap his knee. 

He licked his lips as he remembered that the man had introduced himself. 

But then he also wondered what he was doing here. 

He averted direct eye contact with the wealthy man.

He focused on the intricate design of his silver broach. 

_ Cough. _ The nobleman cleared his throat. That seemingly brought Will back out of his mind.

Will turned his gaze to the man's nose. Preferably, he would have wanted to look anywhere but at the figure of the tall, not lanky but lean, and clearly noble and influential man.

_ Tap. Tap. Tap. _ Will's knees started to itch.

"A pleasure to meet you."  _ Not really.  _ "My name is Will Graham." He introduced himself as well. But Will knew for a fact that the Master of the house already most likely knew his name.

"It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mister Graham." The man called Charlus smiled. "My dear butler, Mister Theo, has already informed me much about you," said the man as he elegantly took a seat at the head of the table; on the opposite side under the wolf head. "A psychology teacher on a soul-searching journey for the meaning of life. Sounds just like the eloquent words taken straight out of a novel." The man swooned.

"Uh... yeah, I guess?" _ Socializing is confusing. _

"So tell me about yourself, Mister Graham. Since we will most probably stay under the same roof for a few days, we should get better acquainted with each other, no?." The wealthy man swiftly unfolded a napkin and placed it on his lap. 

Will's eyes focused on the man's amber ones. He shifted his legs and straightened his posture. Then moved his arms to position his napkin in the same way as the gentleman did.

"Do you have trouble with any tastes?" The man went on, his tone seeming pleased at something, and his eyes glinted oddly.

"No Sir. No nut allergies, or any for that matter, that I'm aware of, I assure you."

"Good. Good." Charlus clapped once. Immediately at his beck and call, Theo came through the doors with a cart carrying several scrumptious-smelling plates of food.

Will's stomach rebelled and began to growl, which caused his cheeks to flush. But Charlus didn't seem to mind. He seemed more amused by it, actually.

The butler went over to Will's side first. He extended a hand to Will. And Will swiftly nodded. Theo quickly tucked a napkin over Will's collar to cover under his chin and chest. Then he placed down several of the plates in front of Will and pulled the cloche off. Once he was done, the butler headed towards his master to do the same routine.

Will politely waited for Charlus to lift the first utensil.

"I must say, Mister Graham, you have a good knowledge of polite society."

"Manners drilled into me since I was able to babble." Will mimicked the man's smile, which seemed to be the correct answer.

"How wonderful." The man's smile widened. "Well, I am famished. Shall we begin eating?"

But Will still waited for him to move first, and nodded.

At the lift of a spoon in the man's hand, Will quickly mirrored. Using the proper spoon to devour the soup first. His aching stomach egged him on.

"Do try the lamb, my personal chef worked very hard for this special occasion."

Will lifted the spoon from his mouth.  _ Tasty. _ "Occasion, Sir?" He obliged and finally dug into the roasted rack of lamb. It has been so long since Will had a proper feast.

"Your visit, of course," said Charlus as though Will was being silly.

Will chewed completely before replying. "Must be very dull around here, then."

"Quite, actually," the man humored him. "But there are a few activities that are interesting."

"Oh, and what's that?"

"Hunting."

"Oh." Will looked up from his plate, eyes trailing to the wolf head on a plaque. "Did you hunt that large wolf yourself, Sir?"

"Good eye," the nobleman said with a hearty breath. "I did indeed. It's rare to find such a worthy hunt." He grinned. "Don't you agree?"

"I'm not sure, Sir. I've only ever hunted to appease my hunger. Simple deer, squirrels, waterfowl, and the like."

"Oh, I promise you, Mister Graham," the man tilted his head, "When hunting another predator, you will feel something entirely different." His eyes glinted again. "Their complexity makes for a far more worthy trophy."

"I'm sure it does, Sir."

Charlus's gaze turned into a sympathetic,  _ poor boy, _ expression directed at Will.

But rather than showing his irritation, Will kept his smiles pleasant when talking in the presence of the influential man. 

"Anyway, let me not distract you now, my good man. You must have traveled far and wide to be this depleted on energy." The man mused as he beckoned Theo with his finger. 

The butler brought out a few more dishes for Will. 

"Go ahead. Eat some more."

Will chose to just nod instead of responding with his words. Deciding that replying with a mouthful of food to be unpleasant. He quickly chewed the roasted rack of lamb between his molars. The taste melting onto his tongue like butter.

But...

Cogs strummed through his head.

Will froze, pausing his chews.

_ He knew this texture... _

_ He knew this flavor... _

Will stared at his fork of roasted  _ lamb. _ Swiftly regaining his composure, Will continued to eat and swallow the remainder in his mouth; however, his bites were smaller, and his sips were strained.

_ He could be wrong though. _ (He hoped that he was wrong.)

Something banged on a door in the back of Will's mind. Something he seemed to have forgotten. Something dark...

"How's the lamb taste? My chef is very talented~" The wealthy man asked in a sing-song tone.

Will swallowed. Gathering his thoughts back into place.

Will trailed his eyes to his plate of the roasted rack of lamb. 

"Is the lamb not to your liking?" He asked with a smile on his lips.

Will turned his focus back on the nobleman. "It is wonderful, Sir. The roasted lamb is especially tender." He mirrored the man's expression, acting as though everything was normal.

The man chuckled in response. (Some sort of inside joke.) "Wonderful! I shall inform my chef of your compliment." 

Will slowed down the pace of his eating. He couldn't stop completely, as that may be seen as disrespectful. So he waited until Charlus seemed to be finished. Watching as the man put down his fork and knife at a 4 o'clock position on his emptied plate. 

Will swiftly followed his movement and placed his utensils in the same position. Though the table was still filled with untouched food, he no longer had an appetite for it.

Theo swiftly came and picked up the plates from the table. Leaving Will to wonder where the leftovers that were barely touched ended up.

Charlus dabbed his napkin over his lips before he said, "Let's talk some more, Mister Graham." The nobleman's eyes again glinted. "I find myself fascinated by you."

Will couldn't help but chortle. 

The face on the nobleman turned neutral.

"With all due respect, Sir Charlus, I disappoint you in that I am most likely one the dullest people on this Earth that you would ever meet." Will's musings lightened the sudden tension. "I can't fathom a single  _ fascinating _ thing about me."

"Ah, but you are wrong, Mister Graham." Charlus smiled again. "Every person has a uniqueness to them." The man leaned forward. His teeth slightly showed through his lips. "And you, my good man, don't seem like any  _ other _ I've met."

"Thank you, Sir." Will glanced in a triangle from eye-to-eye-to-nose. Then he leaned forward as the gentleman did. "I suppose everyone has an undiscovered uniqueness inside of them."

"I'm sure we'll discover yours soon too, Mister Graham." Again the man chuckled in some sort of an inside joke.

"If you don't mind me asking, Sir Charlus."

"Ask away, my good man." The man tilted his head.

"I've heard highly of things about your sons," Will said sweetly. "I was hoping to talk with them, but they weren't at dinner as I was expecting."

"Ah," the man's face turned neutral again. Eyes darkening as he said, "I am proud of my children. Though, I am afraid they are busy at the moment."

"I see. That's a shame." Will showed a disappointed expression. "And the Lady Mistress?"

Will barely caught the twitch on the nobleman's face, but the dark glint in the man's eyes lingered. "Indisposed, I'm afraid."

"I see. My sympathies."

Charlus stood up from his seat first. The unblinking eyes of the wolf head just laid behind the man.

"Have a good rest, Mister Graham." The man dismissed Will with a wave. "Theo shall call the mechanic for you first thing in the morning. " The tails of his coat disappeared behind the tall wooden doors.

"Right this way, Mister Graham."

_ Step. Step. Step. _

The hallways were as empty and beautiful as ever. 

Will stared at every mirror they passed by.

"Are you sure Sir Charlus doesn't have a daughter?"

"I am sure, Mister Graham," the butler slanted his head, "If the Master and Mistress did, I assure, I would know."

Will glanced at every mirror they walked by. He counted twenty.

Theo opened the door to the guest room for him.

"Have a restful night, Mister Graham." 

That was practically a dismissal.

But Will was still burning with questions; however, he needed to wait. Wait until it was the proper timing. Wait until it became appropriate to ask.

He turned to Theo. "Good—" The door closed. "...night."

He changed out of the gray suit and pants. He stared at the silk white shirt and pants before putting them on. 

_ Even the clothes in this house screamed hundreds of dollars. _

Will kept the scoffing at a minimum. He flicked the light switch off, then situated himself under the thick blankets. He blew out the candle on the nightstand. Then he finally fell asleep.

But Will already knew that he was a messy sleeper. He always tossed and turned, waking up with cold sweat having stained his shirt. Just a little more at stake here than usual since he was given rather expensive-feeling sleepwear. 

And so, it was inevitable that his body had subconsciously jumped him out of the bed, causing him to instantly roll off the sheets. The fabrics fell with him and did an intense tango with his legs.

Will shook the twisted blankets from his feet.

Blue eyes flickered to the walls, the closets, chairs, and tables in the still dark room. The well-toned but lean muscles under his skin tensed. His legs were ready to spring at any moment's notice of the perceived threat that came through his dreams.

After a while, Will's nerves finally calmed themself. He wiped the sweat droplets from his brows and cheeks. He guessed that he must have only slept for about an hour or two before his night terrors forced him out of resting.

He glanced at the wall with the clock.

_ It was normal. _ Everyone has thought about killing someone, one way or another, be it your own hand or the hand of God. So Will isn't a hypocrite for being affected by such things.

Breathing evened out. 

Will took the unlit candlestick holder into his hand, then he rummaged through the nightstand drawers until he found a lighter. He knew that one would be in here based on the glass ashtray next to the bed.

The thin wax burned with a small flame.

Will headed towards the bathroom. Avoiding the blankets he had frantically thrown off. 

Cool running water blasted from the faucet and dripped from Will's chin. Then he dried his face with a small towel and stepped back into the bed. But even as he laid back down, he was still restless. Both mind and body. He doubted that he could easily go back to sleep like this.  _ (Maybe do a little exploring.) _ That might help tire his body out a bit.

Decided, Will whipped up and out of the uncomfortably large bed and threw over a jacket. He put on a pair of strap-on slippers before quietly stepping through the door.

He shuffled as soundless as he could, but it seemed as though every floorboard wanted to speak. The croaks and creaks went unnoticed during the light hours but were made creepier at dark times. Like right now.

_ Creak. Creak. _

The hallway lights were dimmed down enough that Will could barely see three feet in front of him. He held the candlestick and holder out a bit farther.

_ Creak. Creak. _

Will took a step.

_ Bump! _

Will hissed in pain as he smacked his head right into a floating shelf on the wall. He rubbed his forehead. Then he looked around in alarm, standing motionless as he intently listened for any sign of someone having been woken up thanks to his blunder. Thankfully, it didn't seem like he did.

This time, Will stayed at arm's length from the walls. He didn't fancy a brain injury.

As the floorboards continued to creak, Will felt as though someone was watching him. But every time he turned around and flashed the exposing candle like a searchlight there was nothing there.

Ghost stories were figments, exaggerations made by someone who wanted to make a highly clickable article. Like Freddie Lounds did. And Will was a realist. He wasn't a child anymore. He believed in the facts and provable evidence. But right now, he finds himself hoping that all those ghost stories weren't true.

Will's imagination brought out the faint childish giggles he's sometimes heard throughout the day while walking through these hallways earlier. And because he has such a vivid imagination due to his empathy, he found himself walking through the shambling corpses of blurred faces. Many of which were missing an arm, or a leg, or two. Deteriorating skeletons barely clinging onto their flesh that hopped along until they flew through Will without seeming to notice him, and poofing away like smoke.

Will blinked every time a walking corpse disappeared. That's what they are.  _ They're not ghosts. They're just corpses. _ He kept telling himself that.

A shambling corpse missing a leg hopped through him again.

Will furiously rubbed his eyes.

_ Maybe I am just really tired. _

Then another skeletal corpse missing both arms walked through him.

And Will rubbed his eyes yet again.

He didn't know these people who kept walking through him, and they certainly didn't feel like anyone who would have lived in such a wealthy manor based on the style of their tattered clothing. 

Which begs the question of who these ghostly figures were...  _ Were they guests? _

_ Creak. Creak. Creak. _

(But Will wasn't the one walking.)

Will pondered in place, thinking about the blurred faces that seemed to wander the hallways in a set pattern. But he didn't notice the looming shadow over his shoulder.

The wick in Will's hand flickered as the flame grew smaller and smaller. It was slowly running out of wax to burn.

Will didn't sense the presence of that inching dark tendril.

Another ghost figure stumbled past Will. 

_ Maybe he should ask Theo about them. _

Will didn't notice the pale hand hovering just over his hair. Thin and claw-like.

Will suddenly tilted his chin up. His nose picked up an odd scent in the air. He brought his hand under his chin as he tried to remember where he smelled that familiar scent before.

The shadow loomed closer. Like a cage.

The smell was fragrant and pleasant.  _ Sweet? _

Will's body felt that something was so very wrong before his uninformed mind could catch up. His muscles turned into loaded springs. 

_ Flowers? _ Blue eyes widened.

Will suddenly felt a small sting from the top of his scalp as though a prickling tweezer twisted his hair follicles.

Quick as a flash, he whipped around like a kicking stallion. And whatever it was swooped back into the shadows. Disappearing much like Will's specter imaginations.

But again, Will was only able to see nothing there. Well, except for a mirror, and he looked absolutely wide-eyed and sleep-deprived in his dark, reflected image.

_ Huff. Huff. Huff. _

As Will closed his eyes in a sigh of relief, something tapped on his left shoulder. Startled, Will ducked and almost uppercut whatever thing was trying to eat him.

"Mister Graham?"

Instantly Will stopped his motion. And instead of his fist connecting to anything, he swirled and twirled in a circle.

"Mister Theo?" Will said wobbly while dizzy and still seeing the walls merry-go-round. His feet trying to stable him in one place.

"What are you doing still up this late, Sir?" The butler looked at him with bewildered eyes. Probably assuming correctly that Will had almost just knocked him out cold.

"I'm just walking around." Will straightened. His hand subconsciously trailed itself to the back of his skull. "Stretching my legs."

"Couldn't sleep?"

"Couldn't sleep..."

"Would you like some sleeping pills?"

"No. No. No need. I must've just been a little too nervous to be in such a house that will always be beyond my means." Will made a gesture with his hand, repeatedly rubbing his thumb over the tip of his middle and index finger.

The man chuckled. "You belittle yourself too much, Sir." He stretched a hand out a Will, a gesture for silently asking permission to touch.

Will reluctantly nodded.

The man took care not to touch Will for too long as he laid out a small cloak and wrapped it over Will's shoulders.

Will didn't even notice that he was cold until the man pointed to his shivering teeth.

Theo swiftly led him back to his room. And though Will was thankful and dipped his head respectfully at the man, he couldn't help but feel disappointed that he didn't find his way to the manor's kitchen before he had been found.

As Will laid on the too-soft bed with his ruminating thoughts, he began to feel his eyes getting droopier and droopier by the second.  _ Odd. _ He didn't take any of the offered sleeping pills... 

Will could faintly remember seeing the green stem of a petalless flower next to his head — on the nightstand — and wondering, _ how did that get there? _ Though before he could answer that, he completely passed out. (Whether it was exhaustion or something else remains a mystery.)

  
  


**~•●⚫●•~**

  
  


When Will next woke up, he found himself with a throbbing headache in a barely lit room (probably a dungeon), and with a depleting stomach.

_ Growl... _

Will tried to move his arms first but found that his wrists were cuffed together. He glanced around and fell into more confusion as he didn't remember how he got here. With no shoes on at that. Though he did have socks on; they were quite thin.

Will sighed and wondered when he had been drugged.

_ At dinner? Slow acting then. No... It wasn't at dinner. Room? Which Room... Living room? No... His room? Yes. The guest room? Closer... Sweet? Vents... Mirrors... _

Will's mind placed the final cogs into place. The door at the back of his mind opened. He palmed his face, as he took that long to finally realize it.

He could already vividly imagine how annoyed with him his other half was going to be because he had been a bit careless. Will mused that he probably should have acted sooner. Probably from the very moment he noticed what sort of  _ delicacy _ was in his little dinner date with the Master of the house.

Will huffed in irritation (mostly at himself).

Deciding to scope out a bit, sharp, blue eyes scanned the room, picking out the useful details he could make out.  _ There were a mirror and a vent here too. _

But then a voice interrupted his search. "Welcome! Welcome!" It boomed over what sounded like an old microphone. "You woke up quicker than most. I knew you had a certain uniqueness, Mister Graham!"

"Who?" Will glared towards the direction of the booming voice. Rubbing his forehead. His eyes landed on a small, black dome that laid under a small speaker attached to the corner of the room.

"Why, haven't I already introduced myself? Of course, I am the Master of this humble mansion! To which I had generously allowed a peasant, like yourself, to have dined and rest in." The voice rasped.

"How generous," Will said sarcastically, then growled, "But I'm not interested, Sir Charlus."

Will could imagine the man over the speaker twisting his smile into a dark grin. "Temper. Temper. Mister Graham." He tsked in feign disappointment. "I know of all the splendid and interesting things about you." He said as though Will were a rare animal. "Like how you're actually quite the feral man. Like how cautious in nature you are. Like how observant in nature you are. My, I would even say that it was as though I were looking at a mirror. You noticed how different the meat was at dinner, did you not?" 

Will scoffed as the man dragged on with his probing monologue.

The nobleman did not care how Will felt. "Fine. But do you know what was the best thing, Mister Graham?"

Will chose not to give the man the satisfaction of a reply. Showing how little the words from the man meant to him. And it worked, somewhat. He could sense in the air the little bubbling tangs of irritation.

"Well, Mister Graham, it's how no one would miss your presence even if you do happen to, let's say  _ disappear." _ He sneered at Will. "Poor. Poor. Poor boy."

Another laughing fit came through the speaker. The nobleman cackled like a hyena. Echoing an ear-piercing screech like a deranged dolphin. It was clear to anyone that he longer cared about keeping up appearances.

"Oh! That shall be your title on my gold-trimmed plaque. A poor traveling boy!" The man's belittlement pierced with the screeching of electrical waves.

Will immediately covered one of his ears in an attempt to lessen the pain.

"My apologies about that."  _ (He wasn't sorry.) _

It sounded as though a hand was tapping the microphone. 

"My children must have messed with the settings too much the last time we hunted," he said in a mirthful tone. "Anyway, it is rude to make you wait, Mister Graham. So let us get on with the preparations for the show!" 

_ Click. _ A small sliding window opened in the stone wall, and a delicious scent entered the room.

"Please do keep your energy stores up!" Charlus said eagerly. "That way, it will make for a far more intriguing hunt," he said slyly with a timbre of his voice.

Will eyed the camera, then the plate suspiciously. "How am I supposed to eat it like this," his tone was even snarkier as he held his bound wrists up.

"Figure it out, Mister Graham. Because you are going to need it."

_ Well... Shit. _

_ Beep. _

And now Will was by himself, left to ponder his options. 

He could choose not to eat the stale-looking piece of bread, old lamb strips, and a mush of what looked to be porridge, despite the curling feeling in his stomach that was vocalizing its hunger. But if he did that, then he may deplete his energy reserves too quickly during whatever this sick house prepared for its victims.

A sweet, fragrant scent suddenly began to fill the room.

Recognizing the scent and what it meant, Will quickly decided to stuff his mouth with the meager meal.  _ He's had worse. _

Will reasoned that whatever drug or poison in the pitiful excuse for food may not be as bad as starving through whatever ordeal awaited him the next time he opened his eyes.

He angled the bowl in his hands to somewhat properly get the mushy porridge onto his tongue. He went on to tear into the hard and brittle bread and stringy meat  _ (stale lamb). _ And he had almost finished the bread too, before whatever drug within the food started to affect him.

Will's vision began to go woozy first. 

Then squiggly shapes jumped in appearance.

And finally, a blackness encompassed all of his vision. 

Will passed out again. A few minutes after taking the first bite.

_ Thump. Thump. Thump. _

When Will woke up again, he felt even groggier and even more light-headed. He could hear every beat of his heart. But at least his head wasn't throbbing anymore, although his muscles and bones hurt from having slept on the uncomfortable stone for what felt like hours.

His stomach wasn't settling very well either.

_ Maybe I shouldn't have eaten the stale bread. _

But whatever they planned, it would seem they wanted him to have all motor functioning.

Will looked around. He determined that he wasn't in the cell anymore.

"Oh, the pitiful lamb woke up." A different voice came from the speaker. There were multiple of them by the louder, laughing echo behind it.  _ "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing." _

_ Probably a younger man. And a complete nut-job by the sounds of it. _

"Dear Older brother was still rounding his sweet little furballs together." The voice dropped an octave. Growing more menacing by the second.  _ "If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? And if in a safe land you are so trusting, what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?" _ Cackles spiked through the crackling speaker. "Little lamb. Little lamb. Run along now. Run and compete. We shall find out if you are worthy of blessing.  _ So run that you may obtain it." _

Will sneered towards the direction the voice came from as he stood. And how Will would have liked to just bite and tear out the man's jugular too. If only he were speaking to Will in person.

Will huffed in irritation.

"I hope thou art not missing a limb by the time we next meet, little lamb. The little ones are a little hungry."

_ Beep. _

Will's instincts spurred as the hairs on his skin stood tall. He jumped to his feet. At least they weren't shackled like his wrists. But he seemed to have been given more leeway due to the now foot-long thick chain between them.  _ They wanted to have a fun game. _

The chains clanked and clanked. Every time Will took a step, the metal created more clinks and clanks. 

He scoffed at the blatant rigging of this sick game.

Suddenly, a loud sound like a slamming metal door made Will's head flick in a direction. But only more darkness greeted him. 

Will could barely see two feet in front of him. His eyes weren't going to be useful to him now, no matter how sharp they were.

He quickened his pace as he felt his way around the dark, maze-like hallways with his palms. Going in the opposite direction of that loud, slamming sound. 

Everywhere he walked, he saw death. More ghostly figures with blurred faces disappeared as they ran through him. But that's the thing. They were running this time.

Will's mind prickled as he made the connections spark.

_ They were victims... _

Will wanted to hurl the acid from his stomach as he saw another ghostly figure limping with their severed arm in hand before it disappeared as he walked through it. But he bit the tang right it back down his choked throat.

The darkness allowed his nose to more actively search, as he began to scent a hint of an old coppery tang stuck in the putrid air.

Will closed his eyes, trusting his nose. 

Chains rattled. 

Will swiftly stepped around several decaying skeletons missing some or all of their limbs.

The walls were always within arms-length, almost to a claustrophobic level, so sometimes he had to hop over the bones. Two people could probably barely walk side-by-side through them. And Will couldn't tell how high up the ceiling was above him, for it was too dark. It was as if looking at a blank abyss.

Nevertheless, Will felt even more fouled. Disgusted. Angry. His mind itched.

That dark feeling was itching since he first laid eyes on the faded dirt road. Tingling when he first entered the foyer. Prickling when he entered the waiting room. Throbbing when he walked past the mirrors. Burning when he entered the guest room. And scathing when he sat at the dining room.

Being in the maze was the final spark that ignited the infernal within Will. Tearing until it transformed into a righteous fire. Hungry to devour the evil until there was only ash.

Will's steps turned rapid. He leaned forward more as though he were running on paws. Sprinting like the nightmarish beast that prowled his dreams. 

The chains barely made a peep.

  
  


**~•●⚫●•~**

  
On the other side of the many cameras humming in a room that looked as though it were an underground bunker, a —  _ creak, creak, creak —  _ of wood can be heard.

"When is Therese going to get a turn to play?" A young pre-adolescent girl pouted her lips as she rocked back and forth. Between her fingers, she twirled a little hair.

Another child of the same age with a striking resemblance to the girl, as though he were her mirror, sat on the circular rug. The quiet boy played with the blocks in his hands while letting his twin image tantrum.

_ Pluck.  _

"Therese gets to play."

_ Pluck. _

"Therese doesn't get to play."

_ Pluck. _

"Therese gets to play."

_ Pluck. _

"Therese stop making a mess. And please pick up those petals," said a figure in the room. Masculine, taller, older, and light-brown hair. He held in his coat a brown-leather pocket-sized book. 

The shorter girl gripped her flower stem and rolled her eyes at him. Not at all intimidated by the man. "No!" She stomped her feet.

The man stood from the swiveling chair and said,  _ "After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry." _

"Therese doesn't even know what that means," she angrily huffed.

"He means that you need to wait for the right moment. Don't be tempted to do anything when you are not yet ready for it." The boy explained to his twin.

The man nodded, ruffling the younger boy's smooth blonde locks.

The little girl only seemed to be further irritated. She huffed again. She rocked on her chair. And she brushed the matted, blonde, black, gray, red, and the new brown hair she glued onto the little doll she was hugging.  _ They were gifts for her from her dear Victor.  _

(It looked like some sort of meshed together, Frankenstein-like creation.)

The man looked at the young girl with incredulous eyes and recited,  _ "If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat." _

The little lady's brow scrunched. She hopped off the rocking chair. Tugging her doll with her, the girl's blonde hair stomped out of the room, completely ignoring her brother's reprimand. But she made a point to stick her tongue out at him and screamed, "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid brother Gerard! You don't let Therese do anything!" And quickly, her little feet ran away.

The man she called Gerard was left speechless, and certainly with a painful wrench in his heart. He huffed glumly after a few seconds and bent over to painstakingly pick up each fallen petal.  _ "Ah, stubborn children who carry out a plan, but not mine." _

"Don't worry brother Gerard." The boy who sat on the floor stood up. "I'll follow after sister. Victor is most likely already watching her, making sure she doesn't get caught up in any antics again."

The man's expression shifted so suddenly.  _ "I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers."  _ He said happily, all traces of gloominess gone as though it had never been there at all.

The child acknowledged with a nod. He eyed the screens and microphones on the tables and walls, glancing at a certain dark brown-haired man who moved through the dark and winding corridors like a hunter of the night. He memorized the man's features before swiftly leaving the room of cameras.

At the same time — back on the other side of one of the screens — a man with short, swept hair tugged at several leashes in one hand, while the other held a hunter's rifle. "C'mon boys, time to hunt."

_ Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! _

A sneer distorted the handsome man's face. His father had gifted him this new prey. He'd been told that it was a feistier ram. He wasn't about to screw up his opportunity.

The large black and brown german shepherds excitedly wagged their tails. Well trained dogs that obediently followed whatever their master desires.

_ Click. _

Metal bars slammed open. Paws with untrimmed nails scrambled (itched) to please their master.

_ Fwip. Fwip. Fwip. _ Tails wagged.

The man smiled down at the excited and salivating canines. Admiring their sharpness.

"Go fetch."

  
  


**~•●⚫●•~**

  
  


Will nicked a dried-up pen from the breast pocket of one of the skeletons. He also picked up a glass shard from someone's old glasses.

But before immediately leaving, Will took a moment to take in the details of the bodies.

_ They didn't even bother to bury them... _

He clenched his teeth at the thought of the many people whose lifeless bodies were left to rot here.

The righteous flames burned even brighter.

Will slowed down his pace this time. He knew he was going to be heavily unarmed no matter what he did, so he needed to use anything and everything he could to even stand a small fighting chance. Conserving energy is one of those things.

"~Where are you little lamb?~" The taunting voice belonged to a man, but it seemed as though something muffled over it.

_ Bark.  _

_ Bark!  _

_ BARK!!  _

_ BARK!!! _

The gruffs from what sounded to be canines swiftly followed behind.  _ Damn it. _ Will didn't have much time, or in terms of weapons to defend himself.

It was distasteful, but he'll need it.

Will pried the femur off a fresher body. He'll do something for them in return for their help.  _ Vengeance. _

He closed his eyes. Muscles tensed and ready.

The ear-piercing howls were trudging behind him.

Will clenched the femur tighter.

_ Thump. _

The scent of copper grew stronger.

_ Thump. _

Will felt the spark in his body.

_ Now! _

_ Clank! Clank! Clank! _

Will snapped around with the femur in his hand, swinging as hard as he could. Even with chains, they were unable to limit his strength.

Dark pupils stared at Will as teeth almost sank into his arms. He followed the swing through as soft brown and black fur grazed his knuckles. A whine yelped into the dark air as it was slammed upwards.

Will whipped the makeshift bone for a weapon into the animal's back again, connecting with heavy ribs.

He heard a thud from a body tumbling over and skidding with a loud smack into the wall. It became eerily still as its whines gradually died into nothingness.

Will refocused his attention to the other mouths filled with canine teeth, growling just a few lengths before him.

_ Scratch. Scratch. _ Nails biting against the cemented floor.

Will's blood pumped louder and louder.

Even with closed eyes, Will could tell more dogs with snarling and bared teeth in front of him. One behind the other in a two-by-two line. 

He sniffed the air, catching the whiff of their well-groomed fur, tracking them around as though he could perfectly see them.

They slowly approached Will and seemed to nearly reach the height of his waist. They were still apprehensive of the man but felt confident enough despite the quick end Will had just delivered to one of their pack members. For they see Will as just  _ prey. _

Will changed his posture, slouching forward. He growled. The shepherds paused for a second. Perhaps sensing that at this time, Will had become something more than man. More beast than human.  _ A predator. _

His senses were all overdosed on adrenaline.

Will heard one of the large dogs' snarl. 

Muscles prickling, Will sensed the dog finally lunging. It caught the end of Will's pants with its teeth, whipping its angular head from side to side, and viciously tugging backward. But Will pulled back with even greater force. Then he pushed the dog backward with the femur bone. It whined, but then just as quickly clamped down onto Will's weapon, creating small cracks in it. He had to spin and spin the vicious dog and himself around, blocking the other canines from biting into him at the same time.

Will took a step back. 

One of the dogs immediately charged its head forward.

He immediately let go of the bone and landed on top of the dog he was grappled with. Twisting his arms, he jammed a pen right into the back of the dog's neck. The dog frantically thrashed, trying to dislodge Will. It vigorously whipped its head around, trying to bite Will's face off at every turn. But Will curled the chains of his shackles under its neck and pulled, pushing the pen deeper as he did. 

Will heard another canine snapped forward, nipping at Will's ankle as it tried to sink its teeth into the skin. He tossed and turned, twisting the animal with him to act as his body shield. The struggling dog wiggled around, blindly biting at the air and howling in pain. Until the last whine finally escaped its bleeding lips... 

Will uncoiled himself and jumped back, leaving the pen still lodged into its neck. Though his leg was dripping with blood, it did not matter. 

He turned his icy blue gaze to the other dogs. Even if he could not clearly see in the darkness, the dogs didn't seem to dare move a single inch. They must have felt it within their instincts. An animal's basic means of survival.  _ They feared Will. _

Several paws shuffled, growing a little fainter as Will sensed their movement backward. 

_ Step!  _ But another trudged forward, frenzied at the coppery smell it has learned to associate with food. Will could easily imagine that it was larger than the other two he'd fought. Stronger than the others. Vicious and powerful. The scent of an apex.

With a howl, heavy paws charged towards Will, causing the roar of others to follow.

_ Found the Alpha. _

Will waited for the large dog at the front of the line to jump first. He twisted and wrangled with it as another beast to another beast. It bit Will's thigh. But he didn't even grimace at the pain. Grabbing the animal's maw, Will pried its mouth open. Shoving its head against the wall, Will grabbed the hind legs. Then with a growl, he flipped and launched the dog back at the other canines like a bowling ball to pins.

_ Thump! Thump! _

Will's blood was fire. And his hands were brimstone.

Will began to shuffle a few steps back. He kept his body close to the cold stone floor as though a crouching tiger.

The largest and most ravenous german shepherd of the pack wobbly stumbled back onto its paws again. Some bones were probably broken, but it still snarled forward into another wild charge.

Will shuffled a few more steps back.

It snapped in a lunging bite, snarling mouth wide open. But before it could taste Will's flesh again, he leaped over its head and shoved the chains of his shackles right into his gaping maw. Quickly, he hooked his arms around the neck and pulled the dog back as though it were leashed. 

The snapping teeth snarled and dripped with saliva.

Will crossed his arms and pulled the chains harder.

Choked whines and yelps were smothered as Will just kept pulling and pulling. 

He knew the other dogs were closely watching. He needed them to see this. They were either afraid of him, or too disorganized to attack now since it was clear their alpha was going to lose.

He could stop now. Release the dog and leave it with heavy injuries. But it would just limp back to its master. Will needed the entire pack to know. To understand that he was at the top,  _ The Apex Predator. _

He still felt the aching tinge of sadness at this. But he had to do it. He needed to destroy the pack.  _ Otherwise, they will just keep hunting him.  _ Will pulled even harder at the chains. The sides of the alpha dog's mouth bled as flesh was grounded away. 

The jaw dislocated. 

The cries turned fearful.

Paws scrambled frantically.

The animal put up a great fight, thrashing until the end with all of its depleting might... Then a snap of the spinal bone echoed through the narrow walls, ceasing the fight.

Will released his grip and uncrossed the chains from the corpse.

_ Thud. _ The furry body fell with a cold pulse.

He rolled off and sat down. The coldness of the floor seeped into his skin. He glanced at the frozen dogs who haven't moved an inch since the alpha dog's death.

When Will heaved a heavy breath. 

None of the other dogs moved.

When Will stood up from the blood-stained floor. 

The dogs flinched.

When Will stretched out his arms to touch the wall.

The dogs scrambled out of his way like ants.

He walked his way back towards the first dog he killed, uninterrupted. Coddling the animal's head, he slowly removed the bloodied pen from its neck. Pen gripped. Metal chains rattled. Will turned back to the dogs who no longer had direction. 

He recognized the sour tang of fear in the air. 

"Go away!" Will barked at them with a snarl and a flash of teeth.

The broken pack of dogs yipped, scrambled their paws, and then instantly fled. They bumped into several walls and one another as they turned with their shivering tails tucked between their hind legs. 

They were likely to never return to this place. 

They had instinctively understood that this territory now belonged to Will. 

Will turned his attention to the decaying scent that led him towards a rotting corpse on the other side of the wall. It was still clinging onto a large but tattered jacket and beanie. And without hesitation, Will swiftly went over to the corpse and sat beside it.

That was a good thing that the dogs left. It was what Will wanted. He  _ wanted _ the dogs gone because  _ they are free to go wherever they want now... _

On the other side of several pulsing green-tinged screens that witnessed the savagery displayed by the man, they all focused on the same thing, on one man they called 'Mister Graham.'

"Oh, little lamb.  _ Walk in wisdom towards outsiders, making the best use of the time." _

"Isn't Mister Graham so interesting?" A familiar rasped voice said excitedly. "The previous prey we had the company of just kept running. Most disappointedly so during the dogs' chase. But not him. No. No. No. No, he didn't just  _ not _ run away, he defeated them. Destroyed his hunters to the point they feared him."

"You're right, Father," the younger nodded in respect. "He just may very well be our blessed  _ Lamb." _

The nobleman chuckled in glee. "I do hope you are right, son. But Nicolas isn't going to be appreciative of the fact that Mister Graham dispatched his dogs. Oh, how I anticipate the stage of their confrontation!" The man turned to his second son. "Gerard, it's about time for you to get ready as well, and do be quick. I believe your dear older brother shall require your assistance soon."

One of the many screens showed a black-hair young man who was leisurely sitting on a chair by a large steel door. 

"Of course, Father." Gerard bowed, but he looked up between the chocolate follicles of his long fringe-styled hair with mischievous eyes.  _ "Whoever is slothful will not roast his game, but the diligent man will get precious wealth." _

The noble quirked his brow, amused. "My dear son, do you believe your dear older brother to be slothful?" The competitiveness between his heirs didn't seem to bother the wealthy man. "You are destined to prove your further worthiness in our next hunt."

Gerard did not confirm nor refute, but said, "This hunt is only just beginning, and Brother Nicolas has already sent the dogs out to work without faith himself. Wasteful of our prey's potential." He slipped a hand to his coat pocket, taking a brown-leathered book out.  _ "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." _

The man's father gave his second son a thoughtful smile. "So you shall then." He stood from the expensive leather of his chair and arched his hand. "I grant you, Gerard Henri de Nablefaim, permission to enter our family's hunting grounds. The victor between two capable heirs shall be the one who makes the man, Mister Graham, bled his last." The man sat back down, like a king to his golden throne. "Do make me proud, son."

"I will, Father, for I shall prowl like the roaring lion and devour in your name."

  
  


**~•●⚫●•~**

  
  


"~Where are you little lamb?~" A young nobleman spoke in a small microphone clipped onto his collar.

He had been impatiently tapping his foot for several minutes now. The brightest light above the doorway made the entire four-way intersection visible without the need for night-vision.

_ Tap. Tap. Tap. _

_ They were taking too long. By now, at least one dog should have come back with a finger in its mouth or two... _

_ Tap. Tap. _

_ Patter. Patter. _

_ Finally. _ The young man stopped tapping his foot. He stood from his comfy chair, taking the hunting rifle into his hands and hooking it onto the strap on his back.

_ Patter! Patter! Patter! _

Their paws sounded closer. The young man waited for his hunting dogs to return.

_ PATTER! PATTER! PATTER! _

_ Odd? _

The paw-steps sounded more fast-paced than usual. They grew closer and closer, and closer. Until...

Suddenly, black figures frantically burst from the darkness. 

The young nobleman slightly stumbled back as he nearly didn't avoid the sudden rush of furry bodies. And with thundering paws, the four-legged animals swooped right past their master. Whining with wide-eyes and afraid, they didn't recognize their master's command to stop as the broken pack clumped in front of the door. Clawing furiously at the steel with a — _ screeeeek. _

Bewildered, the man took a moment before finally relenting. "Alright. Alright!" He reluctantly opened the door. And all at once, the dogs scrapped and rushed into the door. All of them were fleeing as though a monster chased after them. "What the fuck's gotten into them?"

Unfazed, the man turned his eyes back to the darkness the dogs had just escaped from. He unclipped a pair of dark goggles and placed them over his eyes, turning the dial that made the darkness no longer an issue for him. Then he turned the strap holding the rifle from his back and flicked off the safety switch with his finger. Now poised and ready, the man confidently entered the darkness.

Slowly moving through the narrow corridors and obstacles that can act as cover, the man kept his rifle trained at any possible ambush spots at all times. Though he knows these walls like the back of his hand, he couldn't help but feel as though something was off.

The man swiftly turned and checked his backside for the third time.

_ Step. Step. Step. _

Stop.

The man stood as still as a statue. His eyes trailed forward at a distance. 

He stepped closer and closer. Unbelieving eyes gazed at the scene as though it were a nightmare. His breath hitched. The unmoving and too-still body of a large german shepherd blanklessly stared at him. There wasn't any moment of its chest.

He ran up to the dog and crouched, uncaring of the splattered blood getting onto his expensive hunting gear and suit. "No... No. No. No. NO!"

_ Slam! _

The man's hands bled from the force of turning his clenched knuckles to the wall.

If it wasn't personal before, it was  _ now. _

The man swept his hand over the dog's eyelids, closing them for his childhood friend. "Sleep now Chasse," his voice unnaturally soft. "May you dream of chasing rabbits and sheep..." 

The young nobleman stepped away from the corpse. Twisting around with the rifled tightly clenched in his hands. He donned an ugly expression filled with unforgiving hatred.

He began to viciously stalk around another corner and checked for any spots a rat can slink into. But every time he followed the sound of a step, it always led him nowhere. Head down and rifle poised at another dead-end with a useless and lifeless body, the man gritted his teeth and turned to check another corridor. 

"Where the fuck are you, you little rat!"

_ Clink. _

The man viciously swiped around, instantly unloading a gunshot at the sound before even knowing if someone was there. But there wasn't anyone there. Just an actual mouse that scampered away.

"The fuck..." Scoffing at having wasted a bullet, the nobleman reloaded the gun and turned to leave.

The weird feeling of being watched never left the noble's mind.

Suddenly, the man felt an excruciating pain in his thigh. 

Bloodshot eyes widened. The man was caught completely off guard as a figure sprung from under the tattered jacket and dead body. In its hand was a shard of glass that it dug deeper into the noble's thigh.

The man roared in pain, as the figure tumbled him over.

He yelped as he blindly released two rapid fires of his rifle, but none hit their target.

"Get off of me!" The young man yelled. Thrashing around, he gripped the figure's wrist and tried to throw it off of him. But the figure twisted his chains of its handcuffs around his hands, bending his fingers and almost breaking them completely.

The nobleman howled in pain. Frantically kicking back with his legs.

Then suddenly, the figure let go. 

The man was relieved of the pressure for only a second, for the figure instantly twisted back around and swung its leg, sweeping the nobleman from right under his feet.

The young man grunted as he fell with a crack. He hit the cement floor hard. Struggling to barrel roll back onto his feet, he kneeled onto his non-bleeding leg as the pain stuck in his other thigh burned like fire.

Moving quickly, the man unlocked the two shells from his gun and reloaded both. But before he could fire them again, the dark figure flashed in front of him. And with a straight arc of its leg, it slammed right up into the man's chin, sending him flying up and backward, skidding with burns and scrapes as he flew across the crusted floor stained with old iron and blood.

Groaning, the noble laid on his side with a hand over his chest in pain. Blinking the blurriness away — the goggles having been cracked by the strong kick — he frantically poised the rifle and blindly shot.

One bullet missed his assailant's figure due to a dodge. And the second hit the wall his assailant sprung away from as though a versatile tiger in the trees.

He quickly unlocked the used shells again, letting them fall to the floor with a pinging sound like bells. But the figure had towered over him. It viciously kicked his face in with a crack, breaking his nose with a sputtering fall of blood.

With a skid across the black-stained floor, the man cried out in agony and bit his lips with more blood in between his teeth.

The figure swiftly tore the rifle and strap from the broken-nosed man's hands.

"Ow 'arr yo', yo' fukin' 'ittl shi'!" (How dare you, you fucking little shit!) 

"Yo' fukin' 'ill'd ma' dag!" (You fucking killed my dog!) 

"O'wl fukin' 'ill yo'!" (I'll fucking kill you!)

The man looked down at the offensive noble with a bored expression and simply said, "Shut up." He kicked the thrashing noble's stomach. And while keeping a heavy knee down on the noble's head, he unstrapped the utility belt and clipped it around his waist with a satisfied smile.

The man unsheathed a knife from the belt clip and marveled at the elegant etchings on it. Then he pointed the sharp end at the noble's jugular. "Goodbye Mister Nicolas." But just as a tiny sliver of blood trickled out, the smell of gunpowder made him duck away. 

The wall, where his head had just been, cracked from the force of the bullet.

Four more consecutive shots led to the man running towards the wider corridors and barreling into the cover of a turned corner in the wall.

"Impressive, Mister Graham." A second voice crept within hearing distance.  _ "Any one also of the people of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who takes in hunting any beast or bird that may be eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth." _

Will snarled at this lunatic of man who thought of himself as the  _ righteous  _ one. "You didn't bury any of the others I've seen."

The other man hummed in amusement, as though Will's words were a joke. "They weren't beasts. They were pitiful sheep." His steps thudded over to the other nobleman whose nose Will had bashed in.

"Whu' 'ha fuk' arr' yo' doin' 'ear?" (What the fuck are you doing here?)

"Helping you, dear Older brother."

"O'y don' nee' it! O'wl 'ill 'ha merd'err a'sef!" (I don't need it! I'll kill the murderer myself!)

"Of course, dear brother."  _ (I sincerely doubt that.)  _ "I am only assisting you, as I have always done so in the past." The man smiled sweetly.

Will quietly shuffled his feet while they were distracted. Creeping himself towards the smell of a more open area where he could fight the newly arrived man. For he will need all the space he could afford because this man smelled more dangerous than the rest.

_ "If you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another." _

_ Step. Step. _

The man's boots clumped closer to Will. 

"I would like to show you, Mister Graham, that I have come to respect you. For you are no mere lamb. Thus you deserve to hear my name. I am Gerard Henri de Nablefaim. Now, shall we begin our—"

The man suddenly fired another shot of his Kodiak pistol. 

Will flinched away from the chipped corner. 

"I know you're still there, Mister Graham. The scent clings strongly to you. You aren't trying to flee now after all this time, right?"

Will's sniffed the air, picking up the closing-in scent of Gerard as the man continued to creep closer to Will's cover spot. Like a stalking lion camouflaged in the darkness.

"Crazy son of a bitch!" Will sprung from the corner of the wall and threw one of the knives at the man's head, aimed right between the eyes.

The man effortlessly parried with his own military-grade knife, blocking the projectile with the unnatural speed of a jaguar.

Will used this moment to sprint towards the more open ground right through the other side of this corridor. He could hear the two men running after him.

"Le' me 'ave 'ha fin'el sha'!" (Let me have the final shot!)

Will ducked down into a near prone on his stomach, maneuvering in a dodge of another bullet. Nicolas's whine distracted the other man's aim enough for Will to closely avoid it.

Gerard  _ tsked. _

Will jumped behind the corner of another wall. The scent told him that the footsteps coming up right after him was Nicolas.

Taking his knife out, Will allowed the careless man to run straight into the blade. (Perhaps not expecting his prey to not have continued running.)

The nobleman grunted as Will twisted the blade deep into the man's gut. 

Will pulled him and slammed him down to the floor with them both ducking out of the sightlines of the other brother. Just about avoided another close shot from a pistol that had just barely grazed Will's ears.

The clank of a magazine hitting the hard floor informed Will that the man had a full eight-shot round he can shoot all at once again.

Will kicked the rifle from Nicolas's hands. Then using it for himself, he slammed the handle-end of the rifle right into the back of the man's neck, knocking him unconscious. But just as Will relaxed for a second, large hanging lights in the room turned on. His eyes burned from the sudden illumination.

The hairs on Will's arms all shivered at once. And so he instinctively rolled away from the noble on the floor.

Gerard rolled out of the corridor with his hands already aimed and ready to fire.

_ Bam! Bam! Bam! _

_ That's three. _

The bullet holes littered the floor, trailing after Will just as he got behind one of the thick pillars holding the ceiling up. One of the bullets caught a graze of his handcuffs, so Will tugged his arms apart as hard as he could until the metal snapped and his hands were now free to move.

"Make sure to put up a fight, little lamb. Father is expecting a grand show from you after all."

Will rolled his eyes. 

He poked out with the rifle he stole and shot back once as his answer to their sick games.

The man quickly evaded, spinning behind the opposing pillar across from Will as he shot back.

_ Bam! _

_ That's four. _

_ "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive!" _ Gerard yelled over to Will. "I have never felt so  _ alive  _ until now, Mister Graham!"

Simultaneously, Will poked out his rifle again just as the man did with his pistol.

_ Bam! Bam! Bam! _

_ That's seven now... _

Will fired his last bullet.

_ BAM! _

_ Eight! _

Will heard the —  _ clink _ — of metal.

He instantly sprung out from behind the pillar.

_ Clank. _

Rearing the handle-end of his rifle back and nearly dragging it along the cemented floor, Will sped towards the other side of the room. He curved around the pillar the man hid behind. 

Gerard's eyes lit up in surprise.

Putting out all the force he could muster, Will swiveled the rifle up on the axis. Striking the pistol out of the noble's hands like a bat to a baseball.

Gerard's eyes flickered for a second before instantly hardening with a vicious focus on Will. The large man twisted his waist and lifted a leg in a swerving kick aimed at Will's neck. But Will quickly parried the man with his arm and elbow. Feet sliding, the noble's strength was so great that Will was still sent springing backward several feet away.

The man jumped at Will. He grabbed the other side of the rifle and fought Will for it. 

Will rolled over as the man forced him back down onto his back. The wood on the rifle creaked as they pushed and pulled it back and forth between each other.

"Haha!" The man's wide smile put Will off. "Do you wish to enter the holy kingdom of God that badly, little lamb?" He jeered right on top of Will's face.

In spite, Will smirked as he twisted his legs around the man's waist and rolled him over. 

Will quickly jumped on top of the man, reversing their positions with the rifle still being pushed back and forth between them. 

The man was still smiling as though he were having the time of his life.

Irked, Will snuck through several punches aimed at the noble's annoying smile.

Gerard easily retaliated with a punch aimed right back at Will's face, but he parried with his forearm and elbow, gripping the man's wrist. But at the same time, his hold on the rifle loosened. Using his other hand, Gerard took the window of opportunity and yanked, prying the rifle from Will. He twisted it and bashed the handle-end of it into Will's injured thigh. 

Grunting from the bone-crushing impact, Will quickly lost his footing. 

Gerard quickly rolled and tumbled them both back over. Hands grappling with Will as they snapped, chopped, and scratched at each other.

Will kicked the rifle from the man's hands as they spun for dominance, sending it away from either's reach. But now Will was forced on the defensive, crossing both of his arms to shield his face as the man straddled Will's chest and delivered heavy punch after punch. 

A cruel and sadistic smile on his face as he did so. 

Grabbing at the man's wrists as he tried to punch Will again, Will dug his nails into the man as he uncrossed his arms, thereby crossing the man's arms instead.

"You play rough, little lamb!" Gerard laughed. "But I can be rougher." Suddenly the man shot his head forward, crashing his head to Will's in a painful headbutt for the both of them.

Will hissed in pain as he reflexively kicked up at the man with both legs, forcing him away from him. But as Will stumbled back onto his feet, the man charged forward, kicking at Will's chest. Will flew up and back a few more feet.

Groaning on the dusty floor with scrapes littered all over his hands and legs, Will shuffled back onto his shaking toes. 

Gerard sprinted at him again, but this time Will jabbed back with his right foot, causing the man to huff out a hard breath as Will kicked the wind out of him. But the noble reacted quickly, and shoved the leg down and grabbed at Will's collar. Spinning them around, he pulled Will forward and backward and slammed him with his back up against the solid pillar. 

Will growled out with a pained grunt. His shoulders and spine burned. His lips stained with his blood.

He glared down at the noble, then with a snarl, hooked his legs over the other's shoulders. With a sickening twist of bone, Will flipped the man into a suplex. Nearly falling onto his back, the man kicked up his legs into a handstand and back somersault, hopping right back onto his feet into a left hook kick charged at Will's gut.

Will hissed as he held a hand over his tender abdominal regions. He had almost hurled from the sheer force of the man's kick. 

He glanced at the blood trickling down the leg of the reopened dog bite wound to his thigh. The rest of Will's body was most certainly not doing well either. He was utterly covered in scratches and bruises. And though Gerard also seemed slightly injured as well, he wasn't nearly in as bad of a condition as Will was.

He was in a little bit of a tight spot.

"Is that it, little lamb? I was expecting more of a fight."

"You religious hypocrite. Why don't you tell me what happened to 'Thou Shalt Not Kill' then?" 

The man tilted his head. Unimpressed. He slid a hand to a clip on his belt and twirled the silver metal of a knife in his hand. "If that's all you have to repent for, then die." He rushed forward once more.

Will stood and waited. Despite his instincts roaring at him to move, to run, Will waited. Waiting for the right timing to catch the man off-guard again.

"Little lamb! Little lamb! Did you give up?" The towering man jeered at Will. A knife thrust forward, intending to dig itself deep into Will's body.

Just as the man ran close enough that Will could smell his breath, he immediately slanted his body, side-stepping the knife as it grazed over his chest and sliced the top of his shirt. But then quick as a flash, Will lunged into a move, clawing his grip into the nobleman's wrist of the hand holding the knife. He twisted the man's arm with unforgiving strength.

Gerard hissed in pain as he let go, and the knife fell to the floor with a clang. 

Furious at Will, the nobleman shuffled his feet to trip him up. But Will jumped, striking his knee right into the man's back. Releasing a gasp out of him. 

Without giving the man any time to breathe, Will quickly followed up by twisting the noble's arm back even further. Causing him to howl in the pain of his bones.

But the man had one more trick. He purposefully dislocated his shoulder. Then whipped back around with a cheapshot swinging at Will with his other fist. But anticipating this, Will tilted his head downward and took the punch straight to the forehead, gritting his bloodied teeth in the process. 

Shocked, the man froze in the wonder of Will.

Not finished yet, Will grabbed the man's fist with both hands. Turning around and with a howl of his might, he flipped the man right into the air and shattered him onto his back. 

Gerard gasped out loudly as he landed with a crushing crack on his spine. With the searing pain that welled all the way up from his lower back to his neck, he could barely move. Only small twists and twitches. His body was temporarily shocked into paralysis.

Huffing in exhaustion and painful stimuli, Will stumbled over to the knife. He took the curved blade into his shivering hands. Then he walked back over to the stunned man, and this time he towered over him.

The nobleman cackled as he watched Will in revelry.  _ "Then Jesus said to him, 'Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.'" _

Will spat in disgust of the noble. "You should have kept yours sheathed then. As well as your tongue. Maybe I'll cut that off for you so that you wouldn't speak blasphemy."

Will's undying, icy wrath was burned into the crazed nobleman's eyes. 

It was the last sight that Gerard would ever see. And he thought that it was such a blessed and glorious thing.  _ "The Lamb of God..." _

Will thrust the blade into the noble's chest without a second's more delay. He made sure that he sliced slowly. (Will has had much practice on this technique.) He wanted to make sure the man was alive as he carved out the loud beating organ. _ Able to feel every pain he had inflicted onto others. _

The loud wet, drowning and guttural sounds were made as the noble sputtered blood from his mouth. Slowly choking on his own crimson fluid.

Will smiled down at him. And to the noble, he looked just like an angel.

"Goodbye..."

  
  


**~•●⚫●•~**

  
  


The other brother, who Will handcuffed to a pillar, broke the silence as he laughed at the gruesome sight of his enemy's death. Euphoria flowed through veins. He wished he could sleep forever. Because his goal had finally come to pass... 

He had avenged his dear and loyal friend...

"Was it a nice dream?"

The young noble's eyebrows furrowed at the voice. He tried to move his arms but found that he couldn't. Confusion. Bafflement. 

He opened his eyes. 

And finally, anger littered the nobleman's expression. He was seething with promises of pain as he said, "How dare you?!" The man's voice still came out a little muffled due to the broken nose.

"The standard monograph of the time and death by insect activity," Will said.

"What?" The man gritted his teeth.

"I wanted you to be awake for this because I'm curious what yours will be. And because I wanted your Father to watch this and pay close attention." Will appraised the man, eyes probing him as a scientist would to a butterfly's wings. "The prodigal son, Sir Mister Nicolas."

"What do you think you're doing, plebeian?!" The son spat at Will. The noble characteristics of polite society were nowhere to be found in his disgruntled attitude.

"Nothing really." Will slinked towards the man's face, eyes glowing hauntingly as he said, "You don't really matter as much as you think you do. It was simply a passing curiosity. Like one would give to an ant."

"You! How dare you do this to me!" 

The man struggled to get up. His dislocated shoulders flailed aimlessly. And his ankles smashed. He would never be able to walk again. He saw a large amount of blood around him.

"You! Help me up, you lower breed! You were born to be our prey and servants! You can't go against my words!" The noble kept barking. A little declawed kitten who still thought himself a lion. Will almost pitied the man. But the incessant obscenities were enough to pluck that feeling out of Will.

His knuckles begged Will to just slit the man's throat and be done with it.  _ But that would be mercy. _

Will crept over the noble, then struck his knuckles down in a fit of righteous glory. 

The man gasped in shock.  _ Pain. _ He didn't know this kind of pain.

Will kept striking with his wrath on the foul-mouthed man. Not stopping even as his knuckles bled. Not stopping even as the man's snot and tears dribbled down his disfigured face.

Will struck and struck. 

Nicolas's please falling onto  _ death's _ ears.

The man kept babbling until finally, there was barely much of a head left of him. For the final act, Will wrapped his hands around the bashed-in face, then twisted with a —  _ crack _ — of bone.

It was silent as Will stepped back and stood still to revel in the after-moments of a destroyed evil. Whipping the exerted sweat from his brow as a blood trail left its mark on Will's face.

Will's eyes burned as he went on to find his next target.

  
  


**~•●⚫●•~**

  
  


_ Step. Step. Step. _

Theo moved through the hallways of the mansion with the confidence of a head butler.

He was the force behind the continued function of the mansion. And he always has been since he was very young. Since he first met Master Charlus.

Theo was the spotter, so-to-speak.

But although he held a pang of great guilt inside of himself, he still chose to dutifully and loyally continue to conduct his jobs. 'For what reason?' One may ask. Well, because they were his family. His brother. His children. His saviors. And his salvation. (Gerard's elegant way with words seemed to have influenced Theo.)

His important function was to make sure that everything was in order, and that if anyone were to have gone far enough, he was tasked with dragging the guests back down into the deepest areas of the maze so that they could start the hunt all over again.

But this time, Master Charlus had Theo head down into the hunting ground to back up his sons, in the case they needed it. It would seem that the Master was a little paranoid due to the unexpected demonstration of prowess Mister Graham had shown so far.

But as Theo continued walking down the dark corridor leading into the maze, he didn't notice a shadow on the wall.

"Hello, Mister Theo."

Theo whipped around in shock and immediately shot the readied tranquilizer gun in a reflex.

_ Crack! Crack! _ Shards of glass fell as a mirror shattered. The destruction of an illusion cast by a family of liars.

As Theo tried to make sense of what happened, a cloth suddenly wrapped around the gentleman's nose and mouth in an ironically pleasing way for the man that held the drugged cloth.

As the gentleman's vision turned grainy and blurred. The shadowed figure tutted as though a parent needing to punish a child who has done wrong.

Icy blue orbs were the last of what the gentleman saw before he, finally, passed out.

  
  


**~•●⚫●•~**

  
  


_ Drag. Drag. Drag. _

Will stiffened. Suddenly feeling another presence here. 

He let go of the unconscious man's collar and whipped around. He paused. It was an unfamiliar  _ (familiar?) _ young dark-hair man. 

The man looked at him in confusion, but not of Will's identity. The man seemed to know that.

Will trained his scrutinizing eyes onto the man to the point they looked like thin cobra slits. He sniffed the air, taking in the very scent, aura, and presence of the man. He was determining who this was. Checking. Checking. Checking. 

_ Victim? No. No... family? Close. Servant? Closer... Butler? Yes.  _ (The image of an older gentleman in a black and white suit flashed in Will's mind.) It clicked together like the missing piece of a puzzle.

Will relaxed his muscles, now understanding who the young man was.

"Victor?"

The young man instantly stiffened. 

_ A-ha. _

Will immediately softened his eyes, no longer glaring at the man as though he were about to pounce on him. Instead, he opened up his body language in a non-threatening manner and nodded in a gesture of reassurance that said,  _ 'I'm not going to hurt you.' _

Will turned back around with a dipped of his head. He grabbed the unconscious man's collar again, then left the unnamed man to do whatever it was he was doing before Will had stumbled upon him.

The man kept his eyes on Will who was dragging the body of his Master behind him. Staring at Will. Wondering why Will was walking through these passages. Then it clicked. 

The man waved his hand as if thanking Will, though Will didn't notice it.

The dark-haired abruptly dropped the tray in his hands. He briskly walked first, then he started to run. Turning the corner of a room he just left. Two sets of bewildered eyes looked up at him in confusion. 

"Victor?" The little lady spoke first. "What's wrong?" She walked up to the taller man.

"You looked as though you've seen a ghost, Mister Victor." The boy tilted his head.

But the young man didn't have the time to explain. He quickly grabbed the twins' hands in his left and right respectively, and then gently ushered them along behind him. 

The young girl's cheeks flushed a bright pink that complimented her golden locks of hair.

"Young Missus and Young Master, we need to go somewhere for a bit. Think of it as a little field trip. You two always wanted to see the outside right?"

The twins immediately beamed in excitement.

  
  


**~•●⚫●•~**

  
  


"I never took another's life by my own hands." The gentleman's breathing grew more haggard every passing second.

"You still participated, Theo." Will's reply was simple, dull, but mainly uninterested. He grew impatient in hearing more last words coming from  _ these people's _ mouths. He's already heard quite enough of their hypocrisy by now.

Will angled the axe in his hand, aiming for the man's arms.

However, interestingly, the older man simply answered back with a, "I did indeed." But it wasn't hateful. It wasn't egocentric, condescending, or indifferent... It was  _ honest. _

Will glanced back up, gazing directly into the other man's eyes. Searching. Scrutinizingly searching. But he found no lies within them. 

Blue eyes glinted in the better appraisal of the gentleman.

"But... but my son."

"Innocent, yeah I know. Truly innocent. I do not plan to harm him, nor any children in any way."

The gentleman dipped his head low in a semblance of thanks.

"You were a far more cunning, ruthless boy than we had previously thought. The Master..." he gasped, "Was right." His left hand pressed hard onto the deep gash on his stomach in an attempt to slow the flow of blood. "You are... interesting, Mister Graham. Something... very special..."

The gentleman grew paler as a laugh came out subdued, throaty, soft, and pained. But ultimately, he sounded satisfied.

"Thank you, Mister Theo," Will said quietly. He respected the man enough to change his mind, deciding on a quicker end. Will lifted the axe over the man's head. "And... Goodbye." 

The man's fading eyes closed. "Please remember, Sir Will... Violence will beget further violence..."

Will swung his axe down.  _ Swoosh!  _ Hummed the blade as it whipped through the flesh and bone, swiftly separating the connection between  _ the body and soul. _

Will released the handle of the axe, letting it drop to the bloodied floor with a  _ clang. _

Just as Theo accepted his fate by Will's hand, Will was accepting of his fate.

The man's body stumbled forward.

_ Thud. Thud. _

His head rolled and rolled until it was stopped by a wall.

Will reeled back from the splattering texture of blood that sprayed onto his face and another person in the room with them. He licked his lips. The blood on his hands felt warm. Comforting.  _ Satisfying. _

"My... my sons?" The other man in the room babbled, "Wh-where are my sons?" His eyes flicked from one side to the room to the other until finally noticing the headless body, then landing on Will and staying there. "My... My sons... What have you done with my sons?!" His voice quivered.

Will sighed.  _ Even demons have one rainbow inside of them. Supposedly. _

He slowly turned to the quivering nobleman. He knew that this coddled man, who has lived all his life being fed a silver spoon, was not used to being so up close and personal with danger. With fear. With  _ Death. _

"Didn't you watch the show, Sir Charlus?"

"My sons! Give me my sons you damn cretin!"

A crimson-stained hand-launched forward, tightly gripping onto the nobleman's scalp. He squeaked as Will tore out bits of smooth locks of silver, gray, and black hairs. "I'm just worn out with you crazy rich son of bitches, but that doesn't mean you don't deserve to suffer some more."

"No... no... N-no please don't..." snot and tears dripped down his face. "Don't kill me p-p-please. I have money! I'll give you money! Anything you want! Just let me and my sons go, please!"

Will ignored his pitiful attempts at bargaining. And anyway, Will already dispatched his sons, so it was impossible. But Will never even considered accepting any deals from the insects.

He dragged the man from the windowless room. (How ironic that it was so that the family's prey couldn't escape even if they did make it out of the underground labyrinth.)

Uncaring of the painful grip of his hands, Will kept cheerfully tugging the master of the house along. "My apologies, Sir Charlus, or rather, you don't deserve such an honorable title." Will dug his fingers deeper into the man's scalp, pulling his head back so that the man could see Will's wrathful eyes.

The noble whined in pain.

Will carelessly tossed the man through one of the mirrors in the hallway.

"Argh... pl-please!" Charlus cried out in pain as he fell forward through the mirror and landed face-first onto the shattered glass shards.

"There's only one thing I want, Charlus." Will grabbed the man's hair and began dragging him deeper into the dark, hidden passageways. "Whose head will be plastered on a plaque on the wall, you said?"

"No! Please!" The nobleman tried to kick Will's legs, but Will easily wrestled him down. 

Then taking a knife out, he slit the struggling man's ankle ligaments. No one can run from his wrath.

Charlus scrunched his eyes as he continued howling in his suffering. "Y-you... you... monster..."

"Why don't you look in the mirror and say that again, Charlus?" Will dipped his head with an unamused smile. He continued to drag the man deeper into the maze-like structures beneath the mansion. Slamming open door after door, after door.

Will and Charlus's form eventually disappeared into the blackness as though they were swallowed up by it. It had become too dark to see, but they were there.  _ They  _ will always be there.

A man's unheard screaming and screeching bounced off the winding walls. It was the only evidence that the two men were down there. 

The cries of agony echoed deep into the darkness of the maze, spreading like poison. Pitiful cries that slowly filled the vile walls with a stronger, fresher scent of copper. 

The walls were painted by the foul desires of men who gave in to their carnal love. But now, righteous vengeance will write the wrong by punishing the evil who had gone on too long without fear of the repercussions.

No matter how loud the noble screamed... 

No one would hear him. 

No one...

  
  


**~•●⚫●•~**

  
  


A single figure creaked open the front doors with steps shuffling through the uneven, patchy path leading back to the road. 

The figure approached a man with striking amber eyes as it slipped through the brambles. 

The other man looked as though he had been waiting there for quite some time. He softly lifted his head at the figure's appearance. "My dear, did you have a fun hunt?"

The figure nodded his head. His illustrious blue eyes like the seas finally recognizing that the man was there. His eyes still seemed to be glowing with a certain twinkle in them, for his prior  _ activities _ had left a profound experience on the man.

The other gentleman took the blue-eyed man's hand into a tender touch, lightly massaging each sore knuckle with a thumb. He looked into blue eyes reverently, as though he were looking at a rare and magnificent rainbow.

The shorter of the two leaned into the touch. Understood. Thankful. And full on both love and dark satisfaction.

The gentleman man led his beloved into the passenger seat of their car and buckled him in. He didn't care about the staining since they were going to exchange this car for a new one anyway. They did this every time, so it was of no concern.

The engine reeved. Soft tires quietly rolled through the barren road. 

Sleek metal passed by the endless lakes of golden grass and crop fields that had long turned to dust.

Childish voices can be heard giggling in the now distant mansion as the two men drifted away to continue their travels. There was a taller figure behind the children, waving a hand as the car drifted further and further out of sight until only hills of brown and gold remained.

The sun has finally come up...

  
  


**~•●⚫●•~**

  
  


A bustling diner with chattering people and morning coffee-goers were busy with many moving bodies. Waiters and waitresses sped around in their rollerblades as they went to and fro the kitchen and their customers. Their swift attention brought a smile to many faces. (They were certain to get a hefty tip.)

Every stool on the bar counter was occupied, and while most didn't really pay attention, some were watching the screen above the bar attendant's head. There was a reporter on one of the various news channels. 

Oddly, they all seem to be reporting on several related incidents at the same time.

  
  


_ "Wealthy French Noble's Corpse Found In His Own Mansion. Police Say There Are Over 20 Bodies!" _

  
  


_ "Rich Orphaned Twins Admitted to Children's Psychiatric Hospital." _

  
  


_ "Several Bodies Identified As Missing Victims." _

  
  


_ "Young Man With A Story To Tell!" _

  
  


_ "Writing On The Walls Of Blood. Police Say They Have Found The Highway Snatchers..." _

.

.

.

.

.

.

**END. . .**

**~•●⚫●•~**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **~~ (Btw, play Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance OST - Rules of Nature as a sort of ending credits song maybe? It made me feel as though a great weight was lifted from my chest when I finally finished this story with an epic song in the background :D) ~~**
> 
> W/N: Since you got to the end, I'm revealing that the little piece of paper Will found in the book spelled out 'dont trust them' but with missing letters. :P
> 
> Nablefaim = The mix of French words 'Interminable' (roughly means endless) and 'Faim' (roughly means hunger) -> Endless Hunger.
> 
>  **CHARACTER NOTES:**  
>  *Gerard Henri de Nablefaim (25) - Second Son (Young Master): Excellent at using spears - dark-brown hair  
> *Nicolas Premi Erfils de Nablefaim (26) - Eldest Son (Mister): Victory - black hair  
> *Charlus Maximilian Pere de Nablefaim (50+) - Father (Sir, Master) - graying, onyx-black hair  
> *Tristan Jeane de Nablefaim* (10) - Youngest Son (Young Master) Therese's older twin brother: Sorrowful - blonde hair  
> *Therese Marie de Nablefaim (10) - First Daughter (Young Missus): to reap - blonde hair  
> *Theo (50+) - Head Butler since Charlus was young (Mr) - Loyal to a fault  
> *Victor (20) - Son of Theo & Mary. (Mr)  
> *German Shepherd Doggo (Chasseur) - Nic's friend: RIP
> 
>  **QUOTE REFERENCES:**  
>  \- Multiple Bible verses in the English Standard Version.  
> \- "Violence breeds Violence." — Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance OST "It Has to Be This Way" (Yeah, I was listening to this while writing all the actions scenes xD)
> 
> **BloodyWar2411** (author of the amazing Hannibal Fic [Paragon](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28777140/chapters/70568265) that you should totally check out because it's absolute PERFECTION) inspired my writing. You could kinda see the influence in my attempts at a more minimalist approach. 
> 
> I just simply fell in love with how clean **BloodyWar2411's** writing was💗. I'm an amateur writer, but I learned a lot from their story. (E.g. removing unnecessary and distracting descriptions, adding more character interactions for a more dynamic scene, and allowing for the dialogue to naturally flow from one idea to the next so there wouldn't be a need for explanation.) I hope I did okay (>_<)
> 
> (Btw, I hope the dog fight scene wasn't too much. They were just poor doggos who unfortunately had terrible, scum-of-the-earth owners. My heart was wrenching for Will, but he had to do what he had to do. T_T)
> 
> Anyways, Thanks so much for reading this chapter! More Stories and Chapters to come, but it isn't guaranteed to continue the same AU series. (Could be Soulmates AU, Mental asylum AU, Old-Victorian AU, Vampires AU, etc... Who knows 😆) You could also ask me if you want to see a certain AU continuation and I'll see if I could accommodate that to the best of my abilities. But it all hinges on if I could come up with an interesting idea that I want to write.
> 
> \- I wish you all good health! Cya next time (｡◕‿‿◕｡)/

**Author's Note:**

> **~~ (Btw, play Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance OST - Rules of Nature as a sort of ending credits song maybe? It made me feel as though a great weight was lifted from my chest when I finally finished this story with an epic song in the background :D) ~~**
> 
> A/N: Since you got to the end, I'm revealing that the little piece of paper Will found in the book spelled out 'dont trust them' but with missing letters. :P Also, in my opinion, the highlight of the entire chapter was the fight between Will and Gerard. 💗
> 
>  _Nablefaim_ = The mix of French words 'Interminable' (roughly means endless) and 'Faim' (roughly means hunger) -> Endless Hunger.
> 
>  **CHARACTER NOTES:**  
>  *Gerard Henri de Nablefaim (25) - Second Son (Young Master): Excellent at using spears - dark-brown hair  
> *Nicolas Premi Erfils de Nablefaim (26) - Eldest Son (Mister): Victory - black hair  
> *Charlus Maximilian Pere de Nablefaim (50+) - Father (Sir, Master) - graying, onyx-black hair  
> *Tristan Jeane de Nablefaim* (10) - Youngest Son (Young Master) Therese's older twin brother: Sorrowful - blonde hair  
> *Therese Marie de Nablefaim (10) - First Daughter (Young Missus): to reap - blonde hair  
> *Theo (50+) - Head Butler since Charlus was young (Mr) - Loyal to a fault  
> *Victor (20) - Son of Theo & Mary. (Mr)  
> *German Shepherd Doggo (Chasseur) - Nic's friend: RIP
> 
>  **QUOTE REFERENCES:**  
>  \- Multiple Bible verses in the English Standard Version.  
> \- "Violence breeds Violence." — Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance OST "It Has to Be This Way" (Yeah, I was listening to this while writing all the actions scenes xD)
> 
> **BloodyWar2411** (author of the amazing Hannibal Fic [Paragon](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28777140/chapters/70568265) that you should totally check out because it's absolute PERFECTION) inspired my writing. You could kinda see the influence in my attempts at a more minimalist approach. 
> 
> I just simply fell in love with how clean **BloodyWar2411's** writing was💗. I'm an amateur writer, but I learned a lot from their story. (E.g. removing unnecessary and distracting descriptions, adding more character interactions for a more dynamic scene, and allowing for the dialogue to naturally flow from one idea to the next so there wouldn't be a need for explanation.) I hope I did okay (>_<)
> 
> (Btw, I hope the dog fight scene wasn't too much. They were just poor doggos who unfortunately had terrible, scum-of-the-earth owners. My heart was wrenching for Will, but he had to do what he had to do. T_T)
> 
> Anyways, Thanks so much for reading this chapter! More Stories and Chapters to come, but it isn't guaranteed to continue the same AU series. (Could be Soulmates AU, Mental asylum AU, Old-Victorian AU, Vampires AU, etc... Who knows 😆) You could also ask me if you want to see a certain AU continuation and I'll see if I could accommodate that to the best of my abilities. But it all hinges on if I could come up with an interesting idea that I want to write.
> 
> \- I wish you all good health! Cya next time (｡◕‿‿◕｡)/


End file.
